Snails on the Highway
Three lonely people. Henry, a 13-year-old orphan and cinema buff, meets Helena on the beach of a nameless city. She is an old lady who dreamed of being a famous actress and lives out her disappointment every day, but Henry admires her beauty and she in turn is enchanted with him. Before long, their urban legend is joined by a strange old man, Hector, who keeps taking things apart and putting them back together again-but why? What is he hiding? Eventually, Henry brings the two old folk together, unravels their secrets and fears, and helps them to change.
In Gvirtz`s first novel, the characters move slowly at first, as though out of necessity, then are carried away, whirling towards one moment-beautiful and fresh, although incomplete. Henry too falls in love, for the first time in his life, and finds out it`s not all that easy. Snails on the Highway is a clever, heartwarming, bitter-sweet book written with subtle humor.
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“ Gvirtz has noteworthy poetic talent... at times, a little mischievous.”
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“ Gvirtz has real talent. Her writing is flowing and enjoyable... She weaves a fairytale atmosphere detached from any specific place, which gives the story an appealing lightness.”
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“ Contains some brilliant visual depictions...Gvirtz`s novel has the scent of old age and... that sense of missing out on things which comes to those who have slept through their lives.”